} SPEAKER BIOS |

Elected Officials in the region discuss the most pressing issues in their communities and the policy changes they would like to see in the coming year.

• Michael Hassig (Carbondale)

• Leroy Duroux (Basalt)

• Tresi Houpt (Garfield County)

• Keith Lambert (Rifle)

• Doug Mercatoris (Snowmass Village)

• Ken Brenner (Steamboat)

• Mile High Housing Fund [Erika Lindholm]

• Eagle County Economic Development Council [Tori Franks]

• La Plata County Housing Authority [Julie Levy]

• Boulder Housing Partners [Stuart Grogan]

Chris Jackson is program coordinator for the 2007/08 Colorado College State of the Rockies Project. This is his third year with the State of the Rockies Project, and second year as the program coordinator when he also served as co-editor of the 2007 Report Card. Chris’ work for the 2006 Report Card focused on innovative resource management techniques in the Rockies, and was a co-editor of the 2007 State of the Rockies Report Card. He graduated cum laude from Colorado College in May 2006 with a B.A. degree in International Political Economics.

Doug Jeavons

BBC Research

Doug Jeavons is a Managing Director of BBC Research and manages the water and natural resource economics practice. Since joining BBC in 1992, Doug has specialized in regional economic analysis, evaluation of resource uses, values and environmental issues and public finance evaluation. Demographic analysis and modeling is an important element in many of Doug's projects, and he has addressed a conference of demographic experts throughout the West concerning modeling issues and techniques.

Doug is a member of the American Educational Finance Association and the Denver Association of Business Economists. He has a Masters Degree in Economics from the University of Colorado.

Randy Udall is the director of the Community Office for Resource Efficiency (CORE), a nonprofit organization that promotes energy efficiency and renewable energy from 1994 to 2007. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Solar Energy International and Colorado Renewable Energy Society.

CORE promotes renewable energy and energy efficiency in partnership with Holy Cross Energy, a rural electric utility serving 40,000 customers. Holy Cross leads the U.S. in the percentage of its customers who buy wind power. In 1998, CORE started the first “solar production incentive” program in the United States; the program pays customers who install PV systems 25¢/kilowatt-hour for their energy. Holy Cross has more grid-connected photovoltaic systems than any of the 930 rural electric utilities in the nation. Holy Cross’ wind, solar, and hydropower programs will keep 500 million pounds of greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere over the next 20 years. In 2000, CORE started the nation’s first Renewable Energy Mitigation Fund, which has collected $1,000,000 in building permit fees to install renewable energy systems.

Kathleen Curry represents the House District 61, which includes Hinsdale, Gunnison, Pitkin, Eagle and Garfield Counties. Rep. Curry serves as the Chair of the Agricultural, Livestock and Natural Resources Committee and a member of the Local Government Committee.

Rep. Curry is intimately familiar with water issues and policies. She has served as manager of the Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District in Gunnison, Colorado from 1998-2004. From 1996-1998, Rep. Curry served as a Water Rights Specialist for Wright Water Engineers in Denver, and from 1994-1996, she served as a Physical Scientist for the State of Colorado Water Conservation Board. Rep. Curry is board member of Club20, a Western Slope advocacy group, and has served on the Loveland and Castle Rock Water Boards.

Rep. Curry received a Master’s Degree in Water Resources Planning and Management from Colorado State University, and a Bachelors Degree in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Rep. Curry and her husband, Greg, have two sons.